The Spirit Ninja 2
by Living on a Rainbow
Summary: Mia & the rookie 9 are back with a new mission! Sent to Mia's world to find Katana's brother, the gang is in for a bunch of twists and turns. Soon, Mia's faced with a choice: will she join the akatsuki or fight against them? And what about Sasuke?
1. New Mission

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My music was blasting in my ears.

"Ugh," Naruto groaned, "Shut the music off! I can't hear myself think!"

Is it seriously that loud?

"You can think?" I asked, turning my ipod off.

"HEY!" He yelled.

"Shut up, idiot," Sasuke muttered.

"I AM NOT AN IDIOT!"

"Naruto!" Sakura sighed, exasperated, "Just shut up!"

Out of nowhere, a poof of smoke appeared, and out came the ever so tardy Kakashi.

"YOU'RE LATE, KAKASHI!" Naruto yelled.

"Heh, sorry," Kakashi replied sheepishly, "I got lost in the path of life – don't comment, Naruto. Anyway, let's start training. Sasuke and Naruto, you go spar, and Sakura can go teach Mia some healing Jutsus. Now go away, so I can read my Icha Icha book."

Pervert.

Walking over to Sakura, I tried concentrating chakra into my hands.

"You're getting better at this," Sakura stated, "Now keep concentrating on your hands, and think of mending something, like pulling together."

I nodded; not noticing Sakura cut herself with a kunai.

"Okay," I said, "Now what?"

"Now you heal me," She said, holding out her arm.

So that's how our usual training day went – Sasuke beating Naruto, Naruto screaming and demanding a rematch, Sakura ogling Sasuke, me trying not to get pissed at that, the usual.

Today, though, was not a usual day.

"Hey, guys!" Tenten waved from our usual table at the ramen restaurant.

"Hey," I smiled, ordering my food.

"How are you four on this beautiful, youthful day?" Lee asked.

"Fine."

"And you, the ever so youthful Sakura?"

Sakura, seemingly grossed out (for reasons I'll never know), ignored the question.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cooed, "Sit next to me!"

"Hn."

Sasuke sat next to Shino, who was quietly eating his ramen.

"Sasuke-kun! Hi!" Ino exclaimed – I was more tolerable of her, than Sakura, she actually seemed less…obsessive of Sasuke.

"Hn."

Again, with Sasuke's ever so developed vocabulary…

A normal meal, with most of the Rookie Nine, once again. Quite boring, if you ask me.

_Another day, _I thought, _Another boring day. I wonder when Tsunade will actually give me an _interesting _mission._

After the little…err, incident…when the Akatsuki kidnapped me, Tsunade was adamant about sending me out of the city without atleast a few escorts. So yeah, it was a big no-no when it came to missions.

Honestly, in my opinion, my being kidnapped is no big deal, right? Right.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

"Hokage wanted to see him," Choji replied, stuffing his face with ramen, "Don't know about what, though."

Everyone was discussing how their day was, for an hour or so, when a figure came running up to us.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru panted, "I've been looking all over for you guys."

"We're always here, Shikamaru," Ino replied, "For a guy with an IQ of 200, you sure are dense."

"Hn."

"Why w-were you look-looking for us?" Hinata asked.

"Hokage wants to talk to us. Mission."

I silently groaned. I've gone four, almost five, months without a decent mission, and I figured I wasn't going to get one anytime soon.

"ALRIGHT, LET'S GO!" Naruto yelled, leaving a forgotten bill on his way out.

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered, "He forgot to pay for his food."

"Nice," I snorted, leaving my money on the table, "I'll see you at home."

"Actually, Mia," Shikamaru put his hand on my shoulder, "Tsunade wants to see you too."

"Then let's go!" My gloomy mood was suddenly gone, replaced by giddiness at the fact that I finally have a mission.

I followed the others to the Hokage Tower, already finding Naruto waiting impatiently outside the office door.

"HURRY UP ALREADY, TSUNADE! LET US IN!"

I shook my head. Idiot…

"Alright, alright, come in!" The sound was muffled.

As we shuffled in, I noticed three people sitting in the armchairs.

"Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, what are you doing here?" I asked, confused.

"Hn," Gaara grunted, closing his eyes, "Beats me."

"Okay," Tsunade said, "Now that you're all here –"

"WHAT IS IT? WHAT MISSION ARE WE GOING ON?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I was getting to that," Tsunade gritted her teeth, "Now shut up and let me talk."

She checked to see if everyone was listening before moving on.

"As I was saying," Tsunade regained her composure, "You guys are going on a mission."

"You do realize that we don't even live here, correct?" Gaara asked, referring to himself and his siblings.

"Yeah, I do," Tsunade replied, "But the Kazekage allowed it, so you're going."

"Whatever." He muttered.

"Anyway, before I begin, do you accept this possibly A ranked mission?"

Everyone nodded solemnly.

"Good, because after you've accepted, you can't go back on your word. You're going on a mission to retrieve a scroll that will further enhance Mia's powers, and you're going to find her spirit's brother."

"Katana has a brother?" I asked incredulously.

Well, this surely wasn't an ordinary day…

"Yes," Tsunade nodded, "We just found out from one of our spies."

"Where are we supposed to look for both the scroll and the spirit's so called…brother?" Sasuke asked.

"Mia's world," Tsunade replied.

A series of "Cool,", "Alright!", and "Hn,"'s were heard.

I, on the other hand, was freaking out…

_What?! _I thought, _I don't wanna go back! I take back wanting a mission!_

Crap, I was gonna have to go back to my utter and complete hell.

"How long?" Neji asked.

"A year."

Even worse.

"Why?" I asked, "Can't we just get the scroll and kidnap the guy – like you did with me?"

"Yes, but I want you to finish the school year," She replied, ignoring my horror struck look, "To divert attention away from yourself and Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. You four will attend school as regular students, like before, and the rest will act as exchange students from…somewhere…"

I sweat dropped. She was the one who was giving us the mission, after all.

"Anyway, you leave sometime this week, and the school year starts the twelfth. Now go away, I've got paperwork and details to work out." She demanded, taking a swig out of her sake bottle.

As I left, I had one fleeting thought.

_This certainly wasn't a usual day…_

Well, that and:

_I'm so screwed._

**_Author's Note: I'm sorry I took so long, and sorry the title sucks. The title's probably temporary. Anyway, please review!_**


	2. The Start

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"You ready?" Sasuke asked, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

No. No, I was not ready.

"Yeah," I lied, doing the same with my backpack.

"Why don't you want to go on this mission?"

"I don't know, I just really don't like the idea of living with my parents and whatnot. I like having you as a roomie." I replied.

Sasuke smirked. "I can guess why," He said.

I shrugged, blushing a light pink. "Yeah, I guess you can."

"Come on, let's not be late."

I followed Sasuke out of the house, my weapon pouch in my backpack and my twin katana on my back.

We walked into the Hokage's office, only to be greeted by a pissed off Naruto.

One thing I learned; a cranky or hungry Naruto is very bad for you. Take it from someone who's had experience.

"YOU'RE LATE!"

"No we're not, you're just early." I said.

"WHATEVER!"

"Anyway," Tsunade shot Naruto a glare, "Here."

She passed a glass of water to everyone but Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura. Now I was confused…

"What's with the water?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's from the Spirit River," Tsunade replied.

"So the legends are true…" I muttered, "Is that how Team Seven got to me?"

"Yes."

"Then if the river is in Konoha, how did the Akatsuki get it?"

"The river is now an underground pond, just to clarify," Tsunade explained, "And it's under the Hokage Tower. I was sending the water in jars to neighboring countries, but unfortunately, the Akatsuki intercepted it."

"So the legend about it giving unimaginable powers to the drinker is true, then?" I asked.

"That," She replied, "We don't know. The legend says that when you drink the water, the powers it gives unlocks at certain times – almost as if it's alive. Now, your mission is to retrieve Katana's brother, along with a scroll to further enhance Mia's powers."

"I did not know that Mia's spirit had a brother," Gaara said, "Why is that?"

"We honestly don't know," Tsunade sighed, "But our spies found out, and after more research, the boy has a high chance of being stronger than Mia and Katana."

We drank the water in silence, pondering what Tsunade had said. The water had a burning aftertaste, and tasted slightly like plums.

_You never told me you had a brother, _I thought.

_You never asked._

"Who is the spirit's container?" I asked.

"Does the name 'Ian Crane' ring a bell?"

I racked my brain for the name. I had heard it somewhere, but I couldn't remember.

"Uh…no…" I trailed off.

Tsunade sighed, taking a picture out of a folder.

"How about now?"

I looked at the picture. The boy was oddly familiar, around my age, Sasuke's height, slight build, tanned skin, chocolate brown eyes, mid-length brown hair…

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "_That _Ian Crane!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes.

Ian Crane was the normal high school jock, as I recalled. He was in my class, but ignored me. All in all, he was one of the nicer jocks in school. But still an arrogant bastard, in my book.

"Yes, _that _Ian Crane," Tsunade sighed, "Anyway, before the year is over, find that scroll, and get Ian here. I think you should tell him about it first, before kidnapping, or whatever you did to Mia."

Tsunade pulled out a scroll from her desk and unfurled it.

"Sign it with your blood," Tsunade instructed, "Then either Naruto, Sasuke, or Sakura will teach you the hand signs."

I pricked my thumb with one of Gaara's kunai, and pressed my thumb on the scroll, after Temari.

After we had learned the hand signs, we faced Tsunade.

"You're gonna turn up in an alleyway, and meet up with an ANBU by the alias of John Riker. He is to take you to your apartment, the girls share one, and the boys share another. There is also a bank account for you, don't ask how we got it, we just did. Oh, and before you leave, change into different clothes, you're going to look like freaks if you walk out like that."

I snickered quietly, ignoring the little stab in the heart at the mention of the name "John".

While waiting for the others to come back from changing, Tsunade spoke.

"Mia, while you're gone, don't go out alone, the Akatsuki or Orochimaru or anyone may be out there, and still be after you."

"Got it."

"And don't let anyone…take advantage of you."

I gagged. "Ew," I coughed.

"You know what I mean. Just kick his ass if a boy touches you." Tsunade sighed, taking a swig from her sake bottle.

"Fine," I said.

Do I know why she said that? No, I had no clue. But did I care? Nope.

When the Rookie Nine had come back from changing, Tsunade stood.

"Remember, stay inconspicuous," Tsunade instructed, "And here are your files with the information you need – alias, school, grade, etcetera."

Everyone nodded, silent.

"What are you waiting for?" Tsunade exasperated, "Get going."

As was the start of our new mission…

**_Author's Note: Okay, sorry for the shortness and my hurry. I just want to get to the mission as soon as possible, 'cause the first few chapters are usually the hardest for me. Anyway, please review._**


	3. We're Here

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Mia**

"World Transfer Jutsu!"

I opened my eyes to see I was in an alleyway, hearing traffic noises up ahead.

"Whoa…" Kiba breathed, "What are those moving things with wheels? They look awesome."

"They're cars," A man behind us replied, "Welcome to Mia's world! I'm…John Riker."

He seemed like he didn't remember his name.

"So where are we supposed to live?" Neji asked.

"You're all going to have to squish into the car…" 'John' scratched his head, "Unless you would rather walk, and I'll give you the directions."

"NO WAY! I WANNA GO IN THE CAR!" Naruto yelled.

"Idiot, you barely know what a car is," Sasuke muttered.

"HEY!"

"Who wants to go in the car?" 'John' asked.

Tenten, Sakura, Lee, Kiba, Naruto, Gaara, Temari and I raised our hands.

"You want to go in the car?" I whispered to Gaara.

"I have a gourd on my back, and Temari has a giant fan, we have no choice," He retorted.

"Alright!" 'John' yelled, "I'll be right back. Here's the address for those who want to walk."

He handed Neji a piece of paper, and ran off to where he came from.

"We'll see you there," Sakura waved to the leaving group.

Suddenly a roar of an engine was heard. Turning around, we saw a black SUV heading straight towards us.

"Ah!" Kiba yelled, "He's trying to kill us!"

The car screeched to a halt, and out stepped the brunette man from before, grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry," 'John' said, "I'm not very good, but don't worry! I've been practicing!"

I was suddenly afraid for my life.

"Is it too late to catch up with the others?" I whispered.

Temari nodded. Damn.

"Hop in!" 'John' yelled, "You're gonna have to squeeze in, seeing there are eight people for a car."

Temari and Sakura ended up sharing the front, squishing into the passenger seat and eagerly securing the seatbelt to themselves. Tenten, Kiba, and Naruto got into the backseats – only Naruto seemed unfazed at John's apparent inability to drive. Gaara, Lee, and I sat in the way back, fastening our seatbelts quickly.

The car started, and John backed out of the alleyway, onto the street. So far, so good.

I spoke too soon.

It turns out that John isn't the best driver. It's actually a miracle we got to the apartments with no injuries, let alone deaths. Let's just say that half our ride was spent at over ninety miles per hour, and a lot of the times on two wheels. I think I'm now afraid to get in a car.

"Land!" Sakura jumped out of the car, "We're alive!"

I was dizzy from all the high speed driving.

"I will never get in another car as long as I live," Naruto said, a little green in the face.

"Cars are worse than demons," Gaara muttered.

"Come on!" John yelled, "Maybe the rest are inside already!"

Sure enough, the rest of the group were inside the lobby, waiting, and not looking nauseous, unlike the rest of us.

"What happened to you?" Ino asked.

"He's really bad at driving…" I said, "I think we all have phobias against them now…"

"W-wow…" Hinata stammered.

"Let me take you to your apartments. The girls will share rooms, except one, and so do the guys," John said cheerfully.

We followed him into the abnormally large elevator, and into the third floor.

"The girls are 3A and the boys are 3B and C," John said, "There are doors that connect the apartments to each other, so you can confer with each other without raising suspicion. And the Hokage says no funny business, either."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

"Here are your keys," John handed us keys, including me, "The Hokage also requested Mia to have one, so she can pass freely throughout the apartments."

"When does school start?" Sasuke asked.

"Two weeks from today," John replied, "Mia, your parents are expecting you tomorrow. It's actually not that far from here, so I'll trust you'll walk there, but with an escort, of course."

I nodded.

"Anything else?" Kiba asked.

"No, just be at school by eight," John smiled, heading for the elevator again and leaving us in silence.

"So…who gets their own rooms?" Naruto asked.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Gaara replied, heading for the door labeled 3B.

I followed Hinata and Temari inside, dropping my backpack on the couch, and looked around. It was plain, the walls a light beige color, with a small kitchen, living room, one bathroom, and three separate rooms.

"I'll sleep on the couch tonight," I offered.

"I call my own room!" Temari yelled, running into a random room.

"I'm sharing m-my r-room with Tenten," Hinata giggled, running off into another room to put her stuff, Tenten close behind.

"Aw, no fair!" Sakura whined, "Now I have to share a room with Ino-pig!"

"Billboard brow!"

"Pig!"

"We haven't even been here one day and they're already fighting," Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome."

The boys walked into the girls' apartment, apparently done with the room arrangements.

"Done picking rooms already?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I don't get why Gaara gets his own room," Naruto whined, "He doesn't even sleep!"

Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "Do you _want_ me to possibly kill you in your sleep?"

Naruto shook his head no.

It turns out Naruto and Choji shared a room, Shikamaru and Sasuke, Kiba and Lee shared another one, Kankuro and Neji, while Gaara and Shino got their own rooms.

When everyone had settled in the living room, we got down to business.

"Let's look over our files, to see what our aliases are," Shikamaru suggested.

"I don't have an alias," Neji stated.

"M-me neither," Hinata stammered.

"Tsunade didn't give you aliases," Sasuke stated the obvious.

"All it says is that we're from Japan and that we're going to be in the tenth grade, except for Neji, Tenten, Lee, and Temari," Kiba added, "They're going to the eleventh grade."

_Sometimes I wonder how she ever got to be the Hokage…_Katana trailed off.

_You and me both, _I replied.

"What's the tenth grade?" Naruto asked.

"Part of school," I shrugged.

"That didn't answer my question at all, you know."

"I know."

"W-we have a f-few problems," Hinata stammered.

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked.

"Our appearances," Shino answered, "More appropriately, Hinata's, Neji's, and Gaara's appearances."

"How do you feel about wearing contacts?" I asked.

"No," Neji refused, "Contacts are redundant."

"They're going to think you're blind," Shikamaru stated, "There are no eyes without pupils here."

"So be it."

I sighed. "What would you rather have, having everyone stare at you, unnecessarily helping you around, and having to act useless, or just wear simple contact lenses that only change your eye color?"

Silence. Neji was contemplating the idea.

"Fine," He said, "Contacts it is."

I barely heard him mutter something about not being blind and contacts being freaking redundant.

"Gaara's going to need to leave the gourd," Sasuke said.

"No."

"You can't walk around school with a big jar of sand on your back," Tenten argued.

"He c-could put some of h-his s-sand in a smaller j-jar," Hinata suggested, "And keep it in a back-backpack that we h-have to buy soon-sooner or later."

"I agree with Hinata," Gaara said, "But I'm not going anywhere without my sand.

"You're also gonna need to cover up your tattoo and the rings around your eyes," Kiba added.

"What do you suggest I do, then?" Gaara asked.

"Makeup?" I offered.

"Hell. No."

"But –"

"No."

Sakura sighed. "We'll figure something out," She said.

"Is there any food in the fridges?" Naruto asked, "I'm starving."

"I'll check," Temari offered, walking to the kitchen.

"There's food in the fridge," Temari called from the kitchen, "Good thing too, 'cause we don't have any – hey, what's this?"

Temari walked back in with a plastic card and a slip of paper in her hands.

"It's a credit card," I explained, "It's like money, only when you don't have any at the moment you buy something."

"And what's with the numbers on the paper?" Gaara asked.

"The code you have to use to buy whatever you wanted."

"Can someone make something to eat?" Naruto asked, "Like I said, I'm starving."

"Why not just go out and buy some food?" I asked, "It's faster."

"Do they have ramen here?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"No," Sasuke replied, "You idiot, we're in a different dimension. Of course there's no ramen here."

"W-well, I saw a…B-Burger K-King…what-whatever that is, on the way h-here," Hinata stated, "How about we go there?"

"Burger King?" Neji raised his eyebrow.

I could practically imagine what they were thinking – a burger with a crown and scepter...

"Fast food," I explained, "Greasy, but it is food nonetheless."

"Too troublesome," Shikamaru sighed, "Let's just cook something here."

_He's just too lazy to do anything, _Katana said.

_True._

"Then who's gonna cook?" I asked.

Silence.

"I-I'll cook," Hinata meekly offered, "But I'll n-need some help…"

"I'll do it," I said, "Come on."

Opening the fridge, I examined what there was. Ham, eggs, tomatoes, various fruits and vegetables, noodles, etc.

"What are we going to make?" I asked.

"Well…there's bread on the counter," Hinata said, "We could make sandwiches…o-or pasta, some-something simple would b-be good…"

"Pasta it is, then," I replied.

-x-

"I'll set the table," I offered, already pulling out a few plates.

Hinata nodded, spooning the pasta into a large bowl, mixing some tomato sauce in it, and leaving some in another bowl.

As I finished setting the table, I grabbed the pot to put it in the sink, not bothering to use the handle.

"W-wait!" Hinata stammered, "It's s-still –"

"Ow!" I burned my left hand while trying to pick it up.

"H-hot…" Hinata trailed off, "Are y-you okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "I'm fine."

_You act so stupid sometimes, _Katana giggled.

_I. Hate. You. _I thought darkly.

_I love you too, _She replied smugly.

If only she were human, then I can wipe the smirk she'd probably have on her face right off!

"Dinner's ready!" I called, placing my hand in the sink and letting the cool water soothe it.

"Finally!" Naruto yelled, running into the kitchen.

"What happened to your hand?" Sasuke asked.

"Burned it."

"Smart move."

"Hn," I grunted.

"E-eat up," Hinata stammered.

Not everyone could fit at the small table, so we split up. I ate with Sasuke and the Sand Siblings in Sasuke's and Gaara's apartments.

"Is there anywhere to train here?" Sasuke asked.

Typical Sasuke. Even on a mission, he wants to train.

"A park here and there, deserted buildings, something along those lines, I guess," I replied.

"Hn."

"What are the supplies we need for school?" Gaara asked.

"What a normal student needs," I shrugged.

"Which are?" Temari asked incredulously.

"We'll go shopping tomorrow," Kankuro stated, "I can't believe I have to wash off my face paint."

"Face paint here is considered childish, and on men it's just gay."

"I don't think you would like being considered gay, wouldn't you?" Gaara smirked.

"No," Kankuro huffed.

**Later **

"It's late," Shikamaru sighed, "We need to wake up early, to buy whatever it is we need."

Everyone nodded, going to their respective rooms.

I had found an extra blanket and pillow in one of the closets, and I settled down on the couch, under the blanket. I was still awake after a few hours, and I could hear peoples' soft breathing from the slightly open doors, yet I still couldn't sleep.

_So what's your brother's name? _I asked.

_Takeshi. His name means warrior, _Katana replied. There was a bitter undercurrent in her tone. I chose to ignore it.

_He was always the better one at combat, _Katana continued, _so I wouldn't be surprised if he _is _stronger. He's also…kind of corrupt._

My eyebrow rose. _What do you mean by "corrupt"? _I asked.

_It really depends on the situation, _Katana sighed, _He likes to win at all costs._

I honestly didn't like what that meant for us, but before I could ask another question, soft footsteps – barely audible – approached.

I sat up, curiously looking to the source of the footsteps. It was Sasuke.

"Hey," I whispered.

Sasuke nodded his greeting.

"How's your hand?" He asked.

"It's fine."

"While we're here," He began in a hushed tone, "I have the feeling the Akatsuki or Orochimaru or anyone, might be here to get you too, so just be careful."

"Like I don't know that," I snorted quietly, "Tsunade told me the same thing."

"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "But we won't always be here to protect your. And as much as I'd like you to have weapons on you twenty-four seven, that won't happen."

I snickered. Sasuke smirked.

"'Night," I whispered.

"Sleep well," He murmured, before brushing his lips against mine, "Good night."

Now _I can sleep, _I thought, resting my head on my pillow.

**_Author's Note: I hope you liked that last part with Sasuke and Mia. Again, sorry for the shortness. It'll get longer, I promise you! Please Review._**


	4. Crap! I'm back

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Mia**

I woke up to sunlight filtering through my eyelids and the smell of food.

"Morning, everyone," I greeted sleepily, grabbing a plate from one of the cabinets and helping myself to some eggs.

Various people mumbled their greetings.

"Hurry up and eat," Shikamaru yawned, "We need to get our backpacks and stuff today."

"But school starts next week," Naruto protested, "Why not do it some other time?"

"Because we need that time to plan," Neji explained, "And possibly find somewhere to train, while we're at it."

"You're also going to need to buy clothes," I added, "Tsunade only gave you one change of clothes, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"Leave it to Tsunade to make us go shopping," Sasuke muttered.

"I'll help buy the school things," I offered.

"Appreciated," Shikamaru said.

"How about the girls get their clothes first, today?" Tenten suggested, "Since we only have one, um, credit card. The guys can get their stuff tomorrow."

"I don't mind," Neji agreed.

"Neither do I," Sasuke said, "We can look for places to train meanwhile."

I went to the bathroom to change and brush my teeth, while the other girls went to their rooms. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was still recognizable – well, to me I was – I had the same black hair, only it was a bit longer, same blue eyes, maybe a bit thinner, and still as short as ever.

"Ready to go?" I asked when I emerged from the bathroom.

"Sakura and Ino are still getting ready," Temari said.

"Doing what?" I snorted, "They've only got one change of clothes."

"S-Sakura was having trouble with h-her w-wig when I checked on her," Hinata explained.

"Oh, right. The wig…that's what she gets for having pink hair…itchy and fake hair…" I muttered to myself. Temari and Tenten snickered.

"I'm ready!" Sakura exclaimed, running out of her room, Ino close behind her. Her brown wig was down to her shoulders.

Naturally, Sakura wore a pink T-shirt, with a jean skirt. Ino wore the same, except a purple shirt.

I looked over to the others. Hinata wore an oversized lavender shirt and jeans, while Tenten wore a tight fitting – they must have gotten her size wrong – baby blue shirt and knee length skirt, and Temari wore a red long sleeved shirt and jean capris. I wore the same as almost every other day – black shirt and matching jeans.

"Can we go now?" Temari complained, "I wanna see what this place has to offer."

"This place doesn't have the best sense of fashion," Ino commented, walking over to the door.

Hinata followed behind her and the others. "It's not s-so bad," She stammered.

"Okay," Tenten said, "Where do we find a mall around here?"

-x-

"Oh, this is so cute!" Ino exclaimed, holding up a dark blue mini skirt, "I take it back; this place has a _great _sense of fashion!"

"I like this," Hinata was looking at a light purple shirt with the words "Miss Innocent" on it.

"It fits your personality," Tenten complimented, draping another shirt on her arms.

After much difficulty, even with my help – hey, don't blame me, I never went out much – we found mall close to the apartment complex.

There were enough black clothes to satisfy me (I needed to shop, too, you know!), and surprisingly, Temari convinced me into buying – wait for it, wait for it – a skirt. Yeah, yeah, you can laugh.

"Are we done yet?" I asked.

"I am," Sakura said.

"Me too," Hinata agreed meekly.

"I'm done," Ino said.

I got nods from Temari and Tenten, and they followed me to the counter.

"Wow, that's a lot of clothes," the clerk said, "That's really gonna add up…"

I smiled weakly, waiting for him to say the total price.

"Four hundred and thirty-six dollars, and twenty-two cents," He said slowly.

Okay…so it really did add up…

I handed him the credit card, punched in the code, and signed it, expecting at any moment for him to snatch the card away and cut it in half. I was relieved when he handed it back to me.

We separated our purchases into different bags, and took our clothes.

"I'm starving," Ino patted her stomach, "Let's find something to eat."

"Want some burgers?" I asked.

"What's that?" Tenten asked.

Unsurprisingly, burgers are nonexistent in their world, and they were _delighted _to eat burgers and fries, calling them delicious delicacies.

"This is very good," Sakura said through a mouthful of fries, "Too bad they don't have this in Konoha."

"People eat them so much that they start gaining a lot of weight," I shrugged, popping an onion ring into my mouth, "So it's not that bad that Konoha doesn't have any."

"We still need backpacks and school supplies," Temari stated, "Where do we get them?"

"The Ninety-Nine Cents' store."

"Which is where?" Tenten asked.

"The store behind you," Ino giggled.

"Oh."

Once we were finished with our 'delicacies' we entered the Ninety-Nine Cents' store. We bought pencils, pens, rulers, notebooks, and backpacks.

Hinata had bough a dark blue backpack with a purple flower on each pocket. Sakura (naturally, of course) bought a soft pink backpack, Ino got a dark purple backpack with white stripes, and Tenten got a peach colored backpack. Temari and I had gotten messenger bags, except hers was red and mine was black and grey.

"Now all we need are those contacts," Tenten said, "Though I agree with Neji – they're redundant."

She just agrees with him 'cause she loves him…

"I-I saw an optometrist on the other side o-of the m-mall," Hinata stated, "Should we ch-check there?"

"Why not?" I shrugged, "I'm just as clueless as you guys."

"You know," Sakura began as we exited the store, "Sasuke's birthday is next month…"

Everyone (except Hinata, though I'm sure she did it in her mind) groaned. That was all she could talk about last week. Hey, I may be his girlfriend, but I need a break every now and then.

"We should start planning his party," Sakura suggested, ignoring our reactions.

"It's next month, Sakura," I said, "Besides, you know he won't want one."

"Fine, fine," Sakura shrugged, "I'll bring it up some other time, then."

_Is it just me, or is she a little _too _obsessive of Sasuke? _Katana asked.

_I would be fine to say it's just you, but no, she's just obsessive. _I replied.

_Hmph. _She was apparently miffed.

"Um, w-what should I-I chose?" Hinata stammered.

"Whatever you want," I shrugged.

"I can't choose be-between green and b-blue," She replied.

"Blue being Naruto's eyes and green being kinda cool?" Tenten asked. Hinata blushed.

"N-n-no," She blushed furiously, "It's j-just a n-nice c-color!"

"How about grey?" I asked, "For Neji's sake, atleast. Grey eyes are almost like yours, right?"

"I'll c-choose grey," Hinata said.

"You sure?" Sakura asked. Hinata nodded.

"Then it's settled," I said, taking the two boxes of contact lenses.

I could faintly hear Hinata say, "I-I wonder how I p-put contact lenses on," to herself before paying for the contacts.

**Sasuke**

"I'M BORED! LET'S GO DO SOMETHING!" Naruto yelled.

"Shut up, idiot," I said, "Go do something by yourself."

"When are the girls gonna come? I'm hungry," He whined.

"When they drop Mia off at her house," I replied.

"Didn't Mia leave her weapons here?" Gaara asked.

My eyebrows rose. I had told her to have her weapons with her today. Crap.

"She did?" I asked in monotone. Gaara nodded, and I inwardly groaned.

"Where do we find someplace to train?" Neji asked.

"How should I know?" Shikamaru replied.

"I'm so bored!" Naruto complained again.

"We heard you the first time, Naruto," Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"I say we just go find someplace to train," Naruto suggested.

"We don't know where we are," Choji argued, "How do you expect to find someplace to train?"

"We can just walk around till we find a park or something," Neji shrugged, "It's better than doing nothing."

"Hn." I grunted.

"Um, what's this?" Lee asked, holding up a rectangle with a power button and a bunch of numbers.

"I don't know," Shikamaru said, "Maybe it's somehow connected to that big box thing in front of us."

Lee shrugged, pointed it to the black box, and pressed power. The box came to life, showing people…acting…or something, in it.

"Whoa," Naruto breathed, his eyes glued to the box, "What is this?"

"We'll be right back to Wizards of Waverly Place," A narrator from the black box stated, "On Disney Channel."

"Well," Shikamaru sighed, "This certainly counts as something to do."

Naruto only nodded, eyes wide, a thin trail of drool coming out of his mouth. Idiot.

**Mia**

"Is this it, Mia?" Temari asked.

I looked at the medium sized house, seemingly less shabby than what I remembered it to be.

"Yeah," I replied, waving my goodbye to the five.

I waited for them to leave, before I looked back at my home. With my parents.

I walked up to the light blue door, the paint chipped at the edges, and took a deep breath. I knocked on the door, and it seemed like an eternity before it opened.

"Hey, Mom," I said weakly, my hand in my pocket and my other hand carrying the two bags of clothes.

"Hn." She grunted, "Get in."

I walked inside. This place was less shabby than I remembered it to be.

"Where were you?" My father's voice rang out in the silence, from the kitchen.

"Somewhere," I shrugged, desperately wishing I could run up to my room and disappear.

"I want to know where," He said through gritted teeth.

"Like I said," I shrugged again, though my I-couldn't-care-less attitude was shattered by looking down at my feet and shifting from one foot to the other, "Somewhere."

"Go to your room," He growled, "You're just lucky to even be able to come back."

He had muttered that last part, yet I still heard, but I didn't care. I half ran up the stairs. It took me a moment to remember where my room was – second door to the left. My room didn't look different, as if no one entered it since my departure. The drawers were half open, some clothes were scattered on the floor, no doubt from when Sasuke broke into my room – even the window was left open.

I set the bags down onto my bed, kicked off my shoes, and got down to business – cleaning my room.

"Mia!" My mom came through the door, a grimace on her face.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You're grounded," She said, and walked out of my room.

I sighed. Yup, it's official: I'm back home.

Crap.


	5. First day of school

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_RRRIIINNNGGG! RRRIIINNNGGG!!_

I groaned. Why did I have an alarm clock in the first place?

I sat up, hoping to find myself in my room back in Konoha, only to be in…well, my room.

I glanced at the clock. Seven am. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were coming in a half hour. I yawned and stretched, heading for my drawers. I got dressed quickly, dressing in a plain black shirt and black jean capris. I brushed my hair, brushed my teeth, and put my new black Converse on.

I lied back down on my bed, and closed my eyes. I sighed.

_Ready to go back to school? _Katana asked.

_No. _

_It won't be _that _bad, _Katana comforted, _I'll help you with your homework._

_Hn. You won't be able to. _I replied, the main reason being I wasn't planning on doing my homework.

_Yes I will. I actually listen when it comes to your classes._

_Do you mind? _I asked, _I'm trying to enjoy the last…two minutes of sleep I have before I have to go to school._

I heard a loud knock come from downstairs. Scratch that. Make it thirty seconds.

I got up from my bed, grabbed my backpack and headed downstairs.

"Hey guys," I said, "Let's go."

"Hn."

"Hey, Mia."

"COME ON! I DON'T WANNA BE LATE!"

I inwardly sighed; this was going to be a long year…

The walk to school was mostly silent – I was trying to remember the way there, Sakura was quietly ogling Sasuke, and Sasuke was being, well, Sasuke. Naruto was the only one talking, though frankly, I don't know about what.

I walked through the double doors, aware of the stares I was getting, though I wouldn't be surprised if the girls were just ogling Sasuke and the boys...frankly, I wouldn't know what would be going on in their heads.

We made our way to the principal's office, collecting our schedules, and receiving a thankfully small, though boring lecture about running away – my excuse for ditching this place and going to Konoha.

"Running away from things is not the answer to anything," Principal Vern stated, "If you have problems talk about it to friends."

"Yes, sir," I mumbled.

"You can leave now, class starts in fifteen minutes," He dismissed us, "Your books are in your lockers, and the combination is on your schedule."

We nodded and took our leave.

"Man," Naruto sighed, "That was _boring_."

_He'll be even more bored once class starts. _I thought to myself. _Oh, God, don't let him be in any of my classes!_

The thought of Naruto complaining for a whole class period scared me. Considering my low patience levels, if Naruto was in my class and started complaining, he wouldn't be able to walk out the door at the end of the period.

I silently compared my schedule with Sasuke's. We had three classes together – yes! Then I compared my schedule with Naruto – English. Crap.

"Mia? Is that you?!"

I recognized that voice.

"Tonya?" I turned around, surprise coloring my tone.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, "What happened to you? Where'd you go? You look –"

"I came back," I shrugged, "Um, you look…nice."

That was a total and complete lie, in my opinion. She had on a tight light pink tank top, not leaving much for the imagination, a jean mini skirt, and tennis shoes.

"Oh, and you brought James with you," Tonya finally noticed the other three, though mostly Sasuke, "Hi, James."

"Hn."

I can tell I'm going to have problems with Tonya, her probably being a fan girl…

I nudged Tonya slightly, who immediately understood.

"Oh, and hi, um, Marcus…and…Marie?"

"Maria," Sakura's eyes narrowed for a second, then put a fake smile. She must be pissed at not being remembered…

"Right," Tonya smiled sheepishly.

"Anyway," I interrupted, before Tonya could do anything else to piss Sakura off, "We've got to find the exchange students."

"You know them?" Tonya asked, "They got here a few minutes ago."

"Thanks. I'll see you later," I smiled, following Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura to our lockers. I was separated from them, not that I minded. I had a few seconds of alone time before they came for me.

Oddly, I didn't miss Tonya, or feel anything when I saw her. But I didn't look forward to the lie I'd have to tell her at the end of the year.

I looked at my schedule. I had PE and English first. Sasuke also had English second, and I was glad he was going to bear the pain of having Naruto around with me – even if he won't be much of a help.

"The others are in the school courtyard," Sasuke appeared behind me.

I jumped. "Do you have to scare me?" I panted lightly.

Sasuke smirked.

"Come on," Sakura said, "Let's go get them. I wanna compare schedules."

I nodded, closing my locker door and led them to the courtyard, lost in my own thoughts.

_How am I supposed to find Ian Crane? _I wondered. I barely knew him, after all, and from the little that I remembered, he was a popular jock that probably wouldn't go near me, at all.

_Go find him. _Katana said.

_No help at all. _I rolled my eyes, _I wonder why can't we just kidnap the guy?_

_Because it's illegal. _

_That didn't stop Team Seven, now did it? _I countered. Katana only sighed.

"Hey, guys!" Kiba called.

"Hi," I waved, walking over to them.

"So which one of these…people is Ian Crane?" Gaara asked.

"Uh," I stammered, looking around, "I don't see him."

"We'll find him later," Tenten chimed in, "Right now we need to find our classes."

"Need help?" I offered.

"Oh, you were already going to show us around," Lee replied.

"When did I agree to that?"

"When you accepted the mission," Sasuke cheekily replied and smirked.

I sighed.

"Fine, fine," I rolled my eyes, "Hand me your schedules."

Inside, I was nervous. Back at the school I hated, I wasn't sure if I could survive the year. Then I thought of the friends I had behind me, of the guy who held my love, and I smiled. I'll make it through the year.

**Sasuke**

I entered the Science class, Neji behind me. He was wearing the grey contacts Hinata had given him, grudgingly, of course, but he didn't complain, finding them similar to his pupil-less eyes. At least he wasn't as much trouble as Gaara.

"_No," Gaara said, "I refuse to put it on."_

"_Aw, come on!" Tenten protested, "It's for the mission."_

"_I _will not _wear something as redundant and useless as makeup," He shook his head, arms crossed over his chest._

"_Then how do you explain the eyeliner?" I heard Naruto mutter._

_Gaara heard him. "It is _not _eyeliner you idiot," He narrowed his eyes._

_Naruto tackled him. _

"_Now!" Naruto yelled, "I'll hold his arms, someone get his legs!"_

"_Whoever touches me dies," Gaara threatened dangerously, making Naruto visibly pale and gulp._

_Trying to ignore Gaara's threat, Kankuro grabbed his thrashing legs. Temari hesitantly went forward, paling under Gaara's glare._

"_Uh," Temari stammered, "H-here Hinata, you do it!"_

"_W-what?"_

"_Just do it," I muttered. Even though this was extremely amusing, we were going to be late._

"_I-I can't!" She stammered, handing it back to Temari, "You're h-his s-sister!"_

"_Yeah, but he'll kill me!"_

_Hinata sweat dropped, probably fearing for her own life._

_Gaara, meanwhile, had somehow gotten out of Kankuro's and Naruto's grips, and grabbed the makeup out of Temari's hands and threw it to the floor, crushing it with the heel of his foot._

"_Problem solved," He replied hoarsely, "Let's go. We'll be late."_

I inwardly smirked at the memory. I sat down next to Neji in one of those round stools.

"Hello, my name is Mr. Providence," The teacher said, "Welcome to the new school year! Today I'll just be going over safety rules and whatnot. Please note where you're sitting today, that's where you'll be sitting for the rest of the year, unless I say otherwise."

I ignored the girly groans.

"I wanted to sit next to the guy with black hair," One girl whined quietly.

"The black haired one? Are you kidding?" Another girl whispered, "The gray eyed one is so much cuter!"

Well, atleast I won't have that many fan girls…I hope.

"Now I want you to introduce yourselves to the class," Mr. Providence stated, "Starting with the two in the back. The black haired one and the grey eyed one.

Neji straightened up. "Neji Hyuuga. Foreign exchange student."

"Welcome!"

I slouched even more. "James Pride."

I heard the people in the class whisper, mostly about my disappearance, along with Mia, who supposedly ran away.

"Ah, glad to see you again, James," Mr. Providence smiled, "I hope you'll be staying for the school year."

Translation: Don't run away again. Whatever.

I tuned out for the rest of the class, just staring ahead and acting like I actually was listening. I listened enough to know if I was called on, but Mr. Providence didn't call for my attention more than twice.

I got up absentmindedly as the bell rang.

"What class do you have now?" Neji asked.

"English."

"Mathematics."

"Here," I stated, "They just call it Math."

Neji nodded, heading the other way, looking at the door numbers. I probably should have told him that his class was the other way…

I found Mia waiting outside the class, with Naruto.

"Can we go in now?" Naruto asked loudly when I walked up to them.

"You could have walked in whenever you wanted to, you know," Mia replied, "Besides, we're early."

"Whatever," Naruto shrugged, opening the door and running into a seat.

"Hey! Wait up!" Mia called, then stopping dead in her tracks.

I raised an eyebrow, walking silently behind her, when I suddenly knew why she stopped.

Right there, sitting at the desk, was a black haired man, his hair in a loose ponytail, with pale skin and ebony orbs.

Itachi.

**Mia**

"I'll kill –" I muffled Sasuke's outburst by covering his mouth, seeing as there were a few people already coming in.

Itachi smirked, obviously understanding the power he held over us.

Our mission just got a lot harder.

"Hello, class," Itachi stated as Sasuke and I chose our seats, "I am your teacher for the year, Mr. Jameson."

More students came in, including Hinata – alright! – who sat next to Naruto.

"I will be choosing your assigned seats," Itachi continued, looking at a sheet of paper.

"Oh, no," I muttered.

"Marcus Pride, please switch with Miss Parker," Itachi instructed, smirking slightly at Sasuke's expression of annoyance and mine of slight horror.

NO!!

_Stupid Itachi, _I thought grimly, moving over to Naruto's seat.

Itachi continued to randomly place everyone in their seats. Another student entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late," the boy said, "I had to talk with my Art teacher."

Itachi nodded, asking for his name.

"Ian Crane."

Hinata and I shared a glance. We found our target. Okay, well, not found, but whatever.

There were no other seats available besides the one behind Hinata and I. That just made our mission a bit more easier.

_Ha! _I inwardly cheered, _There's karma for you, Itachi! _

_You're so childish at times. _Katana muttered.

I decided to ignore the comment.

"To get started with the school year," Itachi began, "I want you to start writing about what you've done over the summer. No less than three pages, please, and I want it typed and on my desk by Wednesday. Begin."

_I wonder how he knows about computers, _Katana wondered.

_Don't know, don't care, _I replied. _Right now I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to write._

Sure, I can write what I did over the summer, but who's going to believe that I got kidnapped by an evil organization of ninjas trying to take over the world?

I took out a notebook and got to work, aware of Itachi's eyes on the class, especially me. It was unnerving.

Then a sudden idea hit me.

I looked down onto my notebook, hiding my smirk. How come I never came up with this whenever I had essays to write?

The wonderful art of creative spacing. I am a genius. Now all I had to do was come up with enough lies to fill a page or two.

I quickly wrote a bunch of pathetic, preppy lies that came to me – all I really had to do was think like Katana.

_This is easy,_ I inwardly smirked, _Now what would Katana do on a hot, boring summer day?_

_I'm right here, you know, _Katana seethed, insulted by the way I thought she would act, _And another thing: I would _never _go clubbing, especially with a fake ID. _

I inwardly snickered.

This was too easy.

-x-

We had skipped out on school for lunch. We were now all squished into two private corner booths at Wendy's.

"What's next? What other Akatsuki member is here?!" I whispered.

So far, our English, Art, and History classes were taught by Itachi – no surprise there – and wait for it, wait for it…Deidara and Pein. I'm serious! What's next? PE with Kisame? I shuddered at the thought, almost sure he wasn't over the fact I called him Nemo.

Another reason why this mission has become even harder, besides the fact that they're evil ninjas with a _lot_ of strength, is that whenever Sasuke sees Itachi, one of us has to practically _physically restrain _him! I swear, if Sasuke doesn't keep his cool around Itachi, he's gonna find me in his nightmares…

"This just got a whole lot harder," Neji muttered.

"Obviously!" Naruto exclaimed, "The Emo bastard here can barely restrain himself from trying to kill Itachi!"

Sasuke growled. "It's James, loser," He muttered.

"Who – besides, me, Naruto, and Sasuke – has Ian Crane in their classes?" I asked. Hinata, Temari, Neji, and Gaara all raised their hands.

"Now all we have to do is get close to him," I stated, "Be his friends, tell him he's a ninja, hope he doesn't send us to an asylum, and pray to God the Akatsuki doesn't kidnap him while we're at it."

"That's not that hard," Naruto shrugged, "I mean, Mia believed us."

But I don't count. Didn't I tell him I was insane?

"The bell's gonna ring in ten minutes," I said, glancing at my watch, "We should go."

"L-lunch is s-so short," Hinata said.

"Yeah, it sucks."

We made it to school a few minutes before the bell rang, and I grabbed my PE clothes – which were, unfortunately, not black – and headed to the gym, Sasuke by my side.

"Alright," Mrs. Carson, a short, shriveled up prune, said, "For warm up, do three laps around the gym, and we'll start some soccer drills."

I almost groaned. I _suck _at soccer – not to mention many other sports! I would most likely end up getting someone stuck in the ER.

Sasuke and I had to keep pace with the others, them being slow and all.

"Weaklings," He muttered.

"Be nice," I whispered.

"Since when am I nice?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but closed it. He had a good point…

"Well, there was this one time when you helped me –"

"Besides you. You don't count," Sasuke interrupted.

"Alright," I sighed, "You're _never_ nice. I can't believe you're proud of it."

Sasuke merely smirked.

I stopped running, already finishing my three laps, and started stretching.

"Hi," It appeared to be Ian greeting me.

"Hi," I said back.

"Alright," Mrs. Carson began, "I want someone who's good at soccer to partner up with someone who doesn't know how to play to teach them."

"Aren't _you _supposed to teach us," A brave kid asked.

"Yes," She sighed, "But I have a lot of work to do, so I'm just gonna supervise. Now do what I say, or it's detention for you."

"Wanna be my partner?" Ian asked.

"Yeah, sure," I replied uncertainly.

I turned to Sasuke, giving a small nod for him to get another partner. His eyebrow rose, and he grimaced a little, not liking the fact he'll probably get stuck with a rabid fan girl.

"So do you know how to dribble the ball?" Ian asked.

I frowned. "I thought you weren't supposed to use your hands in soccer," I said.

He laughed. "Here, I'll show you."

He kicked the ball lightly between his feet, gradually making it to half court.

"Now you try," He said, kicking the ball back to me.

I hesitantly stopped it with my foot, and began 'dribbling' – I still didn't get the whole dribbling concept – to half court, stopping every minute or so to keep control of the ball.

"Well, that took a while," Ian said, "But you did okay, I guess."

"What now?" I asked.

"Now," He replied, "We learn the basics of passing."

He jogged to the other side of the court, turning to face me. "When you pass it, use the inside of your foot to kick."

I nodded, studying him kick the ball over to me. Curving my foot outward, I tried kicking it. Notice the word 'try'. I kicked it to lightly, only moving a foot or two.

"Try again," Ian urged.

I nodded again. This time I kicked harder – to hard. And in the wrong direction. I had accidentally forgot to use the inside of my foot, actually using my toes.

"Watch it!" Sasuke yelled. I had accidentally kicked the ball to his head.

"Sorry," I called.

"Let's not try it again," Ian said.

"No complaints there," I shrugged.

"It really wasn't so bad, considering it was your first try."

Ha! He obviously wasn't in any of my PE classes!

"Um, sure…let's go with that." I said. He laughed.

"You're funny, got a nice sense of humor," He grinned.

I smiled, "Not so bad yourself," I said, though he hadn't made me laugh at all.

"We should get together sometime, I can help you with your soccer," He offered.

_Yes! _I mentally cheered. _Alright! This just got so much easier!_

"Alright," I said nonchalantly, "Though, would we really have to work on soccer? I don't want you to end up in the ER."

"We'll see about that. If I can teach my baby brother soccer, then I can teach you."

Sure, he can. But don't say I didn't warn him when he has a broken nose.

**Sasuke**

I was sick of watching Ian flirting with Mia. Didn't she notice he was _flirting _with her?!

_If she doesn't notice she's being flirted with, then she's really dense, _I thought.

The girl teaching me, Cathy, was trying really hard to get my attention.

"You're really good at this, James," She said, smiling widely, "I guess I'm a good teacher, huh?"

"Hn."

Cathy wasn't put down by my lack of response. "You should really try out for the team, you'd be a shoo-in!"

"Hn." Like I was really going to do that.

"Um, okay," She nervously scratched the back of her head, "Well, class is almost over, so I suggest you go change. Uh, bye."

Finally.

I changed quickly, as to get Mia away from the Ian kid.

"Hey."

"Sup," She greeted, looking up from her seat on the bleachers.

"Did you notice what Ian was doing with you?" I asked.

"What was he doing?" She asked.

I sighed. She really didn't notice, oh God.

"Don't flirt with Ian," I said, sitting next to her.

"What?" She asked, "We weren't flirting!"

I raised an eyebrow. She didn't notice? She's really as dense as I think she is…

"You didn't notice he was flirting with you?"

"No, 'cause he wasn't flirting with me," Mia replied.

"Sure…" I trailed off.

Mia groaned. "Gee, I never knew you were one to be jealous," She smirked.

My eyes narrowed. "I am not jealous."

"Sure…" She mimicked me, "Anyway, we've got class in…two minutes, I'll see you later."

"Fine."

"Bye." She said, walking out of the gymnasium.

I watched her walk to her next class, until she disappeared down the hallway. Did I mention she was walking with Ian?

**_Author's note: Sorry for the late update, I was busy with schoolwork, friends, life, the usual, and i was working on my new SasuHina story Konoha Leaf Prep. Please review!!_**


	6. Date Night

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, would you be reading this? I didn't think so.**

**Mia**

"Hey, James," I said, using the alias I had later become accustomed to, "You still coming to my house tonight?"

Sasuke nodded slightly.

It was the day before his birthday, and considering I couldn't exactly take him out on a romantic dinner on his birthday, eating a hopefully romantic dinner at my house was the next best thing.

We walked into English class, the last one of the day, thank God. Too bad the last class of the day had Itachi…

"Welcome, class," Itachi said emotionlessly, "Please take your seats, and I have your essays to give you."

I was pretty sure I got an F, seeing as how I used the art of creative spacing.

I sat in my seat next to Hinata, waiting for Itachi to hand in my failed essay.

Itachi handed Hinata and me our papers, face down.

I got a D. Well, it's better than an F, I guess…

"What did you get?" I asked.

"Um, a C," Hinata said uncertainly, "What's a C?"

"It's not a bad grade, necessarily," I shrugged.

"Oh, o-okay."

I looked back to my paper, spying a note in Itachi's handwriting.

_Mia,_

_Meet me after class. _

Oh, perfect. I just might get detention. And now I'm going to be late to my own date, damn it!

"I want you to start a creative writing project. You will be working on it throughout the semester, and it will be like a Midterm this year," Itachi stated.

Translation: I just want to make your life a living hell.

What I would have loved to say: Screw you, Itachi! Though I knew if I said that, I'd probably get killed, whether or not Katana was my spirit.

I groaned, along with a couple other students. I have nonexistent creativity when it comes to writing. I mean, sure, if I wrote I was kidnapped by evil ninjas and that I have to save two different worlds from being completely overrun by those ninjas, it'd be creative – but also a true story. So really, no creativity points there.

"It will be like a story. About anything you want, I do not care. No less then ten chapters, or thirty thousand words, whichever comes first. I will give you three to five days to brainstorm ideas, and then I want you to start the first chapter. Use your notes on chapter writing to help. Begin."

I sighed, taking out my notebook and pen, beginning to brainstorm.

_Got any ideas for a story? _I asked.

_Sorry, it's not my forte, _Katana replied.

Now I _know _I'm screwed. Good thing my grades don't matter – though why our folders said we _had _to do them, I had no clue. Something about blending in with the students here.

"Do you have any ideas for this?" I asked Hinata.

She shook her head. "Not r-really," She replied.

Since I had no idea what the hell I was gonna do, I just decided to doodle aimlessly, anxiously waiting for the end of the class.

The bell finally rang, and I waited for everyone to leave. I sent Sasuke a glance, hoping it meant to that I was staying behind. Naruto and Hinata followed him outside.

"What do you want, Itachi?" I asked tiredly. I really needed to get going.

"I only wanted to compliment you on your cleverness. None of the students here thought to double space."

"If that's all, can I go?" I asked, "I kinda have somewhere to be?"

"To celebrate my younger brother's birthday, perhaps?"

"His birthday's tomorrow, dumb ass," I snapped.

"But you're keeping your relationship a secret, correct?" Itachi smirked. I chose not to answer.

"What do you see in that failure anyway?" Itachi asked, curious.

_If I didn't know better, _Katana began; _I'd say he's jealous._

"Katana thinks you're jealous," I smirked at the sight of him frowning.

"Like I said," His face returned to normal again – which included his famous smirk, sadly, "He's a failure, bound to do something wrong."

"And you're telling me this why?" I asked, glancing at the clock above the door.

"Because my proposition is still open," He replied simply, slightly shrugging his shoulders, "Join our side. We don't make mistakes. Neither do I. Little Brother, on the other hand, does."

I sighed, knowing where he was getting at. Blah, blah, blah. What he really wanted was a date.

"Look," I cut his little speech short, "If a date's what you're looking for, it's a big no."

Itachi smirked again. "And why not?" He asked.

"Because if you didn't know," I replied, "Which I'm most definitely sure you don't, it's illegal for there to be a student-teacher relationship. And last time I checked, you're the teacher, and I'm the student."

"Hn."

"I'm glad I got that into your thick head," I said, "But I've gotta go."

"Have fun on your _date_," Itachi sneered.

_Don't worry, _I almost said, _I will!_

Once I finished getting my books I met up with Sasuke and Hinata in front of the almost deserted school – it was Friday, people wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

"Hey," I greeted, "Where are the others?"

"It was G-Gaara and Neji's turn to make sure I-Ian was safe," Hinata replied, "Shikamaru, somehow, got detention – pro-probably because he was sleeping during c-classes. T-the rest didn't want to w-wait."

Well, that shows how considerate they are! Hmph.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know."

"And risk you getting kidnapped again?" Sasuke asked, "I don't think so."

Hinata agreed, not finding Sasuke's interest in my safety weird. She was the only person – besides Gaara The Smartass, of course – who knew of the relationship Sasuke and I had.

"Is S-Sasuke still going t-to your h-house, Mia?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah," I replied, "You and Gaara are going to cover for him, right?"

Hinata smiled meekly and nodded.

"Thanks," I said. I mentally checked that off my freakishly long To-Do List.

When I had stepped into my house, the first thing I noticed was that my mom was sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee.

"Are you and dad still going out tonight?" I asked, hoping she'd say yes.

"Yeah," Mom replied, "We leave at five and we're not coming back till midnight probably."

"Five o'clock is in an hour, you know," I glanced at the stove clock.

"Hn," She grunted, standing up, "Don't burn down the house while we're gone."

Tempting idea, but I needed the house tonight. Maybe some other time.

I went up to my room. What the heck was I gonna wear?

_How about a skirt? _Katana suggested.

_No._

_Then why'd you buy them? _

_So the girls would stop pestering me, _I shrugged.

_WEAR ONE! _Katana yelled.

_No! And for the thirty times you're going to tell me to wear one, it'll still be a no. _

_Don't you wanna look _nice _for Sasuke? _Katana asked.

I sighed. _I look fine in whatever I wear, _I replied.

_Wear it, _Katana threatened, _Or I'll make you wear one._

_Okay, okay, _I thought, walking over to my dresser, _I'll wear a stupid skirt._

Sighing, I opened the drawer, and taking out a random black skirt and a black long sleeved shirt.

I fingered the piercing on the top of my earlobe. I had gotten it when I was kidnapped, courtesy of Pein. The one on my bellybutton was hidden, but the ring on it was more intricate than my ear piercing. I liked it, though it reminded me of my time with the Akatsuki – and more importantly, Itachi. I guess it always reminded Sasuke of my time there, too, since I always wore it, and he seemed to dislike it, slightly. Maybe I can make an exception of wearing it, tonight.

I sighed, taking the earring off and placing it on my dresser. I glanced at my alarm clock. My parents were supposed to leave in forty five minutes.

I was getting more anxious by the minute. I didn't even know what I was going to make!

I drummed my fingers against the worn wood of my window sill, anxiously waiting for forty-five minutes to pass by.

**Sasuke**

I entered the apartment, dropping my backpack – for something so stupid, it was heavy – and dropping onto the couch.

"HEY, BASTARD!" Naruto yelled, "Why don't you want us to celebrate your birthday?!"

"Because I don't want to," I shrugged tiredly. He'd been pestering all day.

"Oh, come on!"

"I regret even telling you about it."

"Give it up, Naruto," Shikamaru sighed, walking in through one of the doors adjoining each apartment.

"Yeah, Naruto!" Sakura chided from the other room, "Leave Sasuke-kun alone!"

I knew they were up to no good, but I really didn't care.

Naruto grabbed the control off the couch, turning the TV on. Even after spending every day with it, he still didn't know how to change channels and everything. And I was in no mood to help him out now.

I looked at the wall clock; two hours and a half until I could leave. My excuse? I was going over to someone's house for some stupid Art project that Deidara 'conveniently' gave. My partner just happened to be a rabid fan girl, too. My thoughts about that girl aren't positive, and they're censored, just like every other fan girl out there.

I sighed, looking at the clock every few minutes.

"Are you waiting for something, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, noticing me not paying attention to whatever the hell she was saying.

"Hn."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Hn," I grunted, a tiny bit louder.

"You can talk to me, you know," She prodded.

"Hn." Now I was annoyed.

"I'm here –"

"Shut up."

Only two more hours. Let's hope I can get out with my sanity.

**Mia**

_Knock, knock. _

More like a rough _Bang!_

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I muttered, smoothing out my skirt, "No need to be angry."

I opened the door, seeing Sasuke in just a plain black T-shirt and jeans. I suddenly felt a bit too fancy, seeing as I was wearing a stupid, stinking, skirt.

"Hey," I greeted.

He nodded his greeting.

"No need to be so fancy," He smirked.

I blushed.

"Yeah, well," I said, trying to come up with a comeback, "Um, come on in."

"So what's for dinner?"

"Considering my lack of cooking skills," I said, locking the door and leading him to the kitchen table, "It's just gonna be a simple dinner of rice, pasta, and your favorite."

"My favorite?" He raised his eyebrows, sitting down and eyeing the covered plate.

"Tomatoes," I took off the cover, and voila! Dinner's served!

I sat down across from him and began eating. He did the same.

We ate in silence, occasionally making idle talk.

"What did Itachi want to talk about?"

I sighed. Somehow I knew it was coming. If not when we were walking home, then in the middle of his freaking birthday dinner. Of course.

"I really don't know," I sighed again, "He's freakishly cryptic." Like him, I should add, but I didn't want to piss Sasuke off on his birthday.

"Tell me what he said," He said, demanding in his own quiet way.

I replayed the conversation Itachi and I had, skipping the part about his proposition being open. Why? I don't know, I just had a gut feeling in the pit of my stomach (or maybe it was the pasta I had) not to tell him.

Sasuke leaned back in his chair.

"They're up to something," He mumbled almost to himself.

Way to state the obvious, Sasuke.

"I don't understand one thing," His eyes were closed, though he faced me, "Why wouldn't they just take Ian? It's really not like we're much of a threat."

Well, gee, if I knew what was going on in their heads, I'd gladly tell the world, but sorry, I don't. And, hey! _I _think we're a threat. Way to be supportive, Sasuke!

His eyes flicked open, boring into me with an intensity freakishly powerful.

"I don't care how you do it," Sasuke began, "I want you with weapons – kunai and shuriken, at least – at all times."

"I know."

"You know, but you don't _do_."

Okay, I'll admit, I haven't had my weapons with me 24/7 since…ever.

"Fine, fine, I'll have them with me," I sighed, "Happy?"

Sasuke smirked slightly, his mood lightening.

"Anyway," I said, changing the subject, "When are we going to tell Ian?"

Sasuke immediately understood.

"It's yours, Kiba's, and Hinata's choice," He shrugged, "You three are the closest to him."

"And how are we going to find the scroll?" I asked.

"When we tell Ian."

"Huh?" Okay, I might still be new to the ninja thing, but I was sure Ian didn't have the scroll on him.

"When we tell him, he'll be able to direct us to the scroll," Sasuke sighed, as if explaining to a kindergartener, "Because he's Katana's brother's container, and his spirit is the guardian of that scroll, he will naturally have instincts as to where it is."

"Oh," I said, mulling over my newly acquired knowledge, "And you didn't tell me this why?"

Sasuke smirked. "You never asked."

-x-

Right now, we were sitting on the couch, watching _Law and Order _reruns – with much persuading, on my part, while eating desert – you guessed it, tomatoes. God forbid Sasuke liking anything sugary.

Sasuke was getting bored easily. I couldn't really see how _Law and Order _was boring, I mean, we only watched three shows! Sadly, he managed to guess which were guilty, which totally ruined my fun.

"This is boring," Sasuke sighed for the hundredth time.

"This is boring," I mimicked.

Sasuke met my gaze intently. "Are you mimicking me?" He asked.

"Are you mimicking me?"

"Stop mimicking me!" He demanded, clearly annoyed.

"Stop mimicking me!" I smirked.

"Great, this night can't get anymore idiotic," He mumbled.

"Great, this night can't get anymore idiotic," I almost laughed. A few hours ago he said he was having a nice time.

"Stop it!"

"Stop it!" I mimicked automatically.

Sasuke suddenly smirked, but I barely registered it.

"Sasuke, kiss me."

"Sasuke, kiss me – wait no –!" I only just realized what he said, and his lips crashed down on mine.

His lips trailed toward my ears, and whispered, "You're slow, Mia."

Damn it, he was right…not that I was complaining, at this moment...

His lips moved back to hover over mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His tongue slid into my mouth, and we wrestled – I feel so embarrassed for actually revealing this – for dominance. As always, he won. His hands on my waist, my arms around his neck, it felt right.

The small clicking sound of the doorknob turning interrupted us. Thank God the door recently got jammed. Long story short: it was my fault.

"They're not supposed to be here!" I whispered.

"Well, they're here now," Sasuke replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

_Not helping! _I thought.

A light bulb flashed on my head. "To my room!" I instructed, "Now!"

Sighing, Sasuke jogged upstairs, his footsteps making light thuds.

I hurried to the kitchen, disposing of any evidence there was that I had had another person in the house.

I flopped onto the couch just as the door opened.

"Hi," I said pleasantly, trying to look normal and not like I was just making out with my boyfriend (oh, how I love to say that word!), "You're home early."

"Hn." My father grunted, hanging his coat on the coat hanger by the door. My mom went into the kitchen, coming back several minutes later.

My mother looked around suspiciously.

"Did you have someone over?" She asked, her eyes narrowed.

"No."

"Then why are there two glasses of water on the kitchen table?" She asked.

Oh, shit. I forgot about the glasses of water.

"I was thirsty."

"And you got two glasses of water?"

I simply nodded.

"Next time, put them in the sink," Dad said, walking upstairs, and mumbling something about an idiot brat for a daughter.

Glad to know what _he _thinks of me.

_I wonder what'll happen if they find Sasuke in your room, _Katana wondered teasingly.

That would lead to an apocalypse…

"What the hell?! Who are you?!" My father yelled.

Oh, shit...

A low _thump _could be heard from downstairs. Now I was really apprehensive...

"What's going on?" My mother mumbled to herself, walking upstairs.

"Mom, no!" I blocked her way.

"Move it," She pushed me out of the way.

A few seconds later, I heard the same _thump. _Oh, God, now I was really nervous.

What I saw when I ran up the stairs took me a few seconds to register.

...

"WHY'D YOU KNOCK THEM OUT?!" I yelled, "YOU KNOCKED MY FREAKING PARENTS OUT, SASUKE!"

"What's your point?" He shrugged, leaning against my door frame.

"They're gonna wake up and know that they were knocked unconscious, you idiot!" I replied, "And they're gonna know _who _did it!"

Not to mention that I had a boy in my room. Damn it, I'm so screwed.

"Don't worry," He sighed, "I erased your father's memory. Your mom didn't even see me. If we leave them on the couch they'll think they just think they fell asleep there."

"Fine," I sighed, defeated, "Help me get them onto the couch."

...

"Wait a second," I held up my finger for, "You tampered with his memory?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"You never tampered with my memory, did you?"

"If I did, you'd never remember it..." He smirked.

"You better not have," I warned, then sighed, "Help me get them onto the couch.

"Later," He smirked, cornering me against the wall, "Where were we?"

He ran his lips against my neck and up to my jawline. My breath hitched considerably.

He pulled away to look into my eyes. I looked into them without thinking.

The last thing I saw was his red orbs before everything went black.

-x-

"What happened?" I groaned. I found myself on my bed in my clothes from the night before.

Then I remembered.

"UGH!" I groaned again, "Stupid Sharingan and it's wicked awesome powers!"

A sudden smirk graced my lips.

"Sasuke's so in for it tonight..."

**_Author's Note: Hey, guys! You haven't heard from me in forever, I know. But I thought this chapter sucked really badly, and I HAD to change it. It's not much better now, either, but it's better. I'll update soon, don't worry._**


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